Rotary gear mechanical cleaning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cleaning apparatus is capable of cleaning by using a drive force of rolling wheels without using an additional power supply. The cleaning apparatus includes a body provided with main rolling wheels. A rotary brush for cleaning is rotatably installed to the body in such a way that the outer circumferential surface of the brush is in contact with a surface to be cleaned. A dust collecting container is mounted to the body in such a way that a mouth of the dust collecting container is near to both the rotary brush and the floor. A power transmission unit transmits the drive force of the main rolling wheels to a shaft of the rotary brush.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No.2002-49986, filed Aug. 23, 2002, in the Korean Industrial PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates, in general, to cleaningapparatuses and, more particularly, to a cleaning apparatus designed toclean by using the drive force of rolling wheels.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] As is well known to those skilled in the art, cleaningapparatuses for cleaning the floor of a room or a road surface areclassified into three types, that is, a vacuum cleaner, a mechanicalcleaner, and a combination-type cleaner. The vacuum cleaner is designedto clean by using a sucking force of a vacuum sucking unit. Themechanical cleaner is designed to clean by sweeping a road surface by acleaning brush which is driven by the operation of a drive unit. Thecombination-type cleaner possesses the functions of the vacuum cleanerand the mechanical cleaner at the same time.

[0006] However, since such conventional cleaning apparatuses must beprovided with a drive unit, such as a motor, for operating the vacuumsucking unit or the cleaning brush, the conventional cleaningapparatuses are complicated in their construction and their cost isundesirably high. Further, in order to operate the conventional cleaningapparatuses, a user must supply electric power to the drive unit orrefuel the drive unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to providea cleaning apparatus, which is capable of cleaning by using the driveforce of rolling wheels without supplying additional power to thecleaning apparatus.

[0008] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

[0009] The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention areachieved by providing a cleaning apparatus including a body providedwith main rolling wheels, a rotary brush for cleaning, rotatablyinstalled to the body in such a way that the outer circumferentialsurface of the brush is in contact with a floor to be cleaned, a dustcollecting container mounted to the body in such a way that a mouth ofthe dust collecting container is near to both the rotary brush and thefloor, and a power transmission unit transmitting a drive force of themain rolling wheels to a shaft of the rotary brush.

[0010] According to the present invention, the power transmission unitincludes a plurality of gears engaging with each other so that an axleof the main rolling wheels is connected to the shaft of the rotarybrush, and the gears are arranged to form an acceleration gear trainsuch that a rotating speed of a gear mounted on the shaft of the rotarybrush is higher than a rotating speed of a gear mounted on the axle ofthe main rolling wheels.

[0011] According to the present invention, the gears include a drivegear mounted on the axle of the main rolling wheels to be rotated withthe main rolling wheels, a driven gear mounted on the shaft of therotary brush, and at least one intermediate gear coupling the drive gearto the driven gear.

[0012] According to the present invention, a shaft of the intermediategear is movable in a rotating direction of the drive gear within apredetermined range to control power transmitted from the drive gear tothe driven gear according to the rotating direction of the drive gear.

[0013] According to the present invention, the power transmission unitincludes a drive sprocket mounted on the axle of the main rollingwheels, a driven sprocket mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush andbeing smaller than the drive sprocket in diameter, and an endless chainwrapped around the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket, transmittingpower between the drive and driven sprockets, either of the drivesprocket or driven sprocket being provided with a one-way clutch tocontrol power transmitted from the drive sprocket to the driven sprocketaccording to a rotating direction of the drive sprocket.

[0014] According to the present invention, the power transmission unitincludes a drive pulley mounted on the axle of the main rolling wheels,a driven pulley mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush and beingsmaller than the drive pulley in diameter, and an endless belt wrappedaround the drive pulley and the driven pulley, transmitting powerbetween the drive and driven pulleys, either of the drive pulley ordriven pulley being provided with a one-way clutch to control powertransmitted from the drive pulley to the driven pulley according to arotating direction of the drive pulley.

[0015] According to the present invention, the body includes a covercovering the upper portion of the rotary brush.

[0016] According to the present invention, the main rolling wheels arerotatably installed to both sides of the body at symmetrical positions,and at least one sub-wheel is installed at a predetermined positionspaced apart from the main rolling wheels to stably support the body.

[0017] According to the present invention, a handle having apredetermined length is provided on the body to allow a user tomanipulate the body.

[0018] According to the present invention, the dust collecting containeris detachably mounted in the body in the form of a drawer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent and more appreciated from the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings of which:

[0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II′ of FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III′ of FIG.1;

[0023]FIG. 4 shows a power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention, when power istransmitted from a drive gear to a driven gear;

[0024]FIG. 5 shows the power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to the first embodiment FIG. 4, when power is not transmittedfrom the drive gear to the driven gear;

[0025]FIG. 6 shows a power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

[0026]FIG. 7 shows a power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustratedin the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in orderto explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cleaning apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention includes a box-shaped body 10 whichdefines the appearance of the cleaning apparatus. Two main rollingwheels 11 are respectively installed to both sides of the body 10 sothat the body 10 is movable through rotation of the main wheels 11. Anaxle 12, on which the two main wheels 11 are mounted, is rotatablysupported at both sides of the body 10 by bearings 13 in such a way asto be rotated along with the main wheels 11. Two sub-wheels 14, eachfabricated in the form of a caster which swivels in all directions, areinstalled to the corners on the bottom of the rear portion of the body10 to be spaced apart from the two main wheels 11. The sub-wheels 14cooperate with the main wheels 11 to movably support the body 10. Ahandle 15 having a predetermined length is provided on the body 10 toallow a user to manipulate the body 10.

[0029] A rotary brush 20 for cleaning is rotatably installed to a frontportion of the body 10 at a position which is spaced apart from the mainwheels 11 by a predetermined interval, and is used for cleaning thefloor of a building or a road surface. The rotary brush 20 includes ashaft 21 and bristles 23. Both ends of the shaft 21 of the rotary brush20 are rotatably supported at the both sides of the body 10. The shaft21 of the rotary brush 20 is arranged to be parallel to the axle 12 ofthe main wheels 11. The bristles 23 are radially mounted on the outercircumferential surface of a cylindrical member 22 which isconcentrically and axially fitted over the shaft 21. The front portionof the body 10 where the rotary brush 20 is set is open at its bottomsuch that the outer circumferential surface of the rotary brush 20,while being rotated, is in contact with the floor of a building. A frontcover 16 is provided at the front portion of the body 10 to cover thetop of the rotary brush 20.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, a dust collecting container 30 is provided inthe body 10 in such a way that the mouth 31 of the dust collectingcontainer 30 is near to the rotary brush 20 and the floor of a buildingto collect dust swept by the rotating rotary brush 20. In this case, thedust collecting container 30 is manufactured in the form of a drawer.That is, when dust, collected in the dust collecting container 30,exceeds a predetermined amount, the dust collecting container 30 isdetached from the body 10 through an opening 17 which is formed on therear portion of the body 10, and the container 30 is then emptied. Thedust collecting container 30 is designed such that the front end of itsmouth 31 is near to the surface to be cleaned and the rear end of itsmouth 31 is higher than the bottom surface 32 of the dust collectingcontainer 30, thus allowing dust to easily enter the mouth 31 andpreventing dust contained in the dust collecting container 30 fromflowing backward to the outside.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a power transmission unit 40comprising a plurality of gears 41, 42 and 43 is provided on a side ofthe body 10. When a user pushes the body 10 forward, the powertransmission unit 40 is operated to transmit a drive force of the mainwheels 11 to the shaft 21 of the rotary brush 20, so that the rotarybrush 20 is rotated to collect dust from a target surface.

[0032] The power transmission unit 40 comprises a drive gear 41, adriven gear 42, and an intermediate gear 43. The drive gear 41 ismounted on the axle 12 of the main wheels 11 to be rotated along withthe main wheels 11. The driven gear 42 is mounted on the shaft 21 of therotary brush 20 to be rotated along with the rotary brush 20. Theintermediate gear 43 couples the drive gear 41 to the driven gear 42. Inthis case, the power transmission unit 40 is arranged to form anacceleration gear train such that a rotating speed of the driven gear 42is higher than a rotating speed of the drive gear 41. Thus, although thebody 10 is moved at a low speed and the main wheels 11 are slowlyrotated, the rotary brush 20 is rapidly rotated to collect dust from atarget surface. In order to form the acceleration gear train, the drivegear 41 is designed to be larger in diameter than the driven gear 42.

[0033] The power transmission unit 40 is designed such that a shaft 44of the intermediate gear 43 is movable in a rotating direction of thedrive gear 41 within a predetermined range. Therefore, when the drivegear 41 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow ‘A’ of FIG. 4 bythe forward movement of the body 10, power is transmitted from the drivegear 41 to the driven gear 42. On the other hand, when the drive gear 41is rotated in a reverse direction shown by the arrow ‘B’ of FIG. 5 bythe rearward movement of the body 10, power is not transmitted from thedrive gear 41 to the driven gear 42. In order to allow the shaft 44 ofthe intermediate gear 43 to be moved in the rotating direction of thedrive gear 41 within a predetermined range, two shaft guide slots 45,having a predetermined length, are formed along a rotating direction ofthe drive gear 41, on each side of the body 10 and on each side cover 46covering the power transmission unit 40. The two shaft guide slots 45movably support each end of the shaft 44 of the intermediate gear 43.Such a construction allows the cleaning apparatus to be operated onlywhen the cleaning apparatus moves forward.

[0034] The operation and use of the cleaning apparatus according to thepresent invention is as follows.

[0035] When a user pushes the body 10 forward, the main rolling wheels11 are rotated to move the body 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4,the rotating force of the main wheels 11 is transmitted to the drivegears 41 which are mounted on an end of the axle 12. Each drive gear 41is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow ‘A’ of FIG. 4, and theshaft 44 of each intermediate gear 43 is moved along the shaft guideholes 45 in the rotating direction of the drive gear 41 by apredetermined distance. At this time, the intermediate gear 43 engageswith the drive gear 41 and the driven gear 42 at the same time. Therotating force of the drive gear 41 is thus transmitted to the drivengear 42 while being accelerated, so the rotary brush 20 is rapidlyrotated to clean the floor. As shown in FIG. 3, dust sucked by therotation of the rotary brush 20 is collected in the dust collectingcontainer 30. When dust contained in the dust collecting container 30exceeds a predetermined amount, a user detaches the dust collectingcontainer 30 from the body 10 to empty the container 30.

[0036] On the contrary, when a user pulls the body 10 rearward, as shownin FIG. 5, each drive gear 41 mounted on the axle 12 of the main wheels11 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow ‘B’ of FIG. 5. At thistime, since the shaft 44 of each intermediate gear 43 is moved along theshaft guide holes 45 in the rotating direction of the drive gear 41 by apredetermined distance, the intermediate gear 43 disengages from thedriven gear 42. Although the main wheels 11 are rotated under such acondition, the rotary brush 20 is not rotated. At this time, a cleaningprocess is discontinued. When discontinuing cleaning as such, a user maymove the body 10 to a desired place. The cleaning apparatus according tothe present invention is designed such that the body 10 may be connectedto a robot which moves on the floor to be cleaned by itself or to amoving, in place of the handle 15 provided on the body 10.

[0037]FIG. 6 shows a power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention. The powertransmission unit 50 includes several sprockets 51 and 52 and an endlesschain 53. As shown in FIG. 6, the drive sprocket 51 mounted on the axle12 is larger in diameter than the driven sprocket 52 mounted on theshaft 21 of the rotary brush 20. The chain 53 is wrapped around the twosprockets 51 and 52 for transmitting power between the two sprockets 51and 52. Since the driven sprocket 52 is mounted on the shaft 21 of therotary brush 20 via a one-way clutch 54, the rotary brush 20 is rotatedto collect dust from a target surface only when the drive sprocket 51 isrotated in a predetermined direction.

[0038]FIG. 7 shows a power transmission unit of the cleaning apparatusaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention. The powertransmission unit 60 includes several pulleys 61 and 62 and an endlessbelt 63. In this case, the drive pulley 61 mounted on the axle 12 islarger in diameter than the driven pulley 62 mounted on the shaft 21 ofthe rotary brush 20. The belt 63 couples the two pulleys 61 and 62 fortransmitting power between the two pulleys 61 and 62. Since the drivenpulley 62 is mounted on the shaft 21 of the rotary brush 20 via aone-way clutch 64, the rotary brush 20 is rotated to collect dust from atarget surface only when the drive pulley 61 is rotated in apredetermined direction.

[0039] In the same manner as the power transmission unit 40 usingseveral gears according to the first embodiments of the presentinvention, the power transmission unit 50 and 60 according to the secondand third embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 are designed such that the rotarybrush 20 is more rapidly rotated than the main wheels 11, and power istransmitted in only one direction so that the rotary brush 20 is rotatedto collect dust from a target surface only when the cleaning apparatusis moved forward.

[0040] As is apparent from the above description, the present inventionprovides a cleaning apparatus, which is designed such that drive forceof main rolling wheels is transmitted to a rotary brush, thus easilycleaning a surface without using an additional power supply.

[0041] Furthermore, a power supply source is not required for thecleaning apparatus of the present invention, so the construction of thecleaning apparatus is simpler than those of conventional cleaningapparatuses, thus making it easy to manufacture and reducing itsmanufacturing cost.

[0042] Furthermore, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention isdesigned such that a rotary brush is rotated to clean a target surfacewhen a body of the apparatus moves forward, but is not rotated when thebody moves rearward, thus being convenient to use.

[0043] Although a few preferred embodiments of the present inventionhave been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilledin the art that changes may be made in these embodiments withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope ofwhich is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cleaning apparatus, comprising: a body providedwith main rolling wheels; a rotary brush which cleans, rotatablyinstalled to the body so that an outer circumferential surface of thebrush is in contact with a floor to be cleaned; a dust collectingcontainer mounted to the body so that a mouth of the dust collectingcontainer is near to both the rotary brush and the floor; and powertransmission unit, transmitting a drive force of the main rolling wheelsto a shaft of the rotary brush.
 2. The cleaning apparatus as set forthin claim 1, wherein said power transmission unit comprises a pluralityof gears engaging with each other so that an axle of the main rollingwheels is connected to the shaft of the rotary brush.
 3. The cleaningapparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said gears are arranged toform an acceleration gear train such that a rotating speed of one of thegears mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush is higher than a rotatingspeed of another one of the gears mounted on the axle of the mainrolling wheels.
 4. The cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 2,wherein said gears comprise: a drive gear mounted on the axle of themain rolling wheels to be rotated with the main rolling wheels; a drivengear mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush; and at least oneintermediate gear coupling the drive gear to the driven gear.
 5. Thecleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein a shaft of theintermediate gear is movable in a rotating direction of the drive gearwithin a predetermined range to control power transmitted from the drivegear to the driven gear according to the rotating direction of the drivegear.
 6. The cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidpower transmission unit comprises: a drive sprocket mounted on the axleof the main rolling wheels; a driven sprocket mounted on the shaft ofthe rotary brush, said driven sprocket being smaller in diameter thanthe drive sprocket; and an endless chain wrapped around the drivesprocket and the driven sprocket, transmitting power between the driveand driven sprockets.
 7. The cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 6,wherein either said drive sprocket or driven sprocket is provided with aone-way clutch to control power transmitted from the drive sprocket tothe driven sprocket according to a rotating direction of the drivesprocket.
 8. The cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid power transmission unit comprises: a drive pulley mounted on theaxle of the main rolling wheels; a driven pulley mounted on the shaft ofthe rotary brush, said driven pulley being smaller in diameter than thedrive pulley; and an endless belt wrapped around the drive pulley andthe driven pulley, transmitting power between the drive and drivenpulleys.
 9. The cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 8, whereineither of said drive pulley or driven pulley is provided with a one-wayclutch to control power transmitted from the drive pulley to the drivenpulley according to a rotating direction of the drive pulley.
 10. Thecleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said body comprisesa cover covering an upper portion of the rotary brush.
 11. The cleaningapparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said main rolling wheels arerespectively rotatably installed to both sides of the body atsymmetrical positions, and at least one sub-wheel is installed at apredetermined position spaced apart from the main rolling wheels tostably support the body.
 12. The cleaning apparatus as set forth inclaim 1, further including a handle having a predetermined length andpositioned on the body to allow a user to manipulate the body.
 13. Thecleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said dust collectingcontainer is detachably mounted in the body in the form of a drawer. 14.A cleaning device comprising: a rotary brush which cleans, rotatablyinstalled to a housing with main wheels in such a way that an outercircumferential surface of the brush is in contact with a floor to becleaned; a dust collecting container mounted to the housing in such away that a mouth of the dust collecting container is proximate to boththe rotary brush and the floor; and a multiple gear unit which transmitsa drive force of the main wheels to a shaft of the rotary brush torotate the rotary brush when the main wheels move forward and whichdisengages from the shaft of the rotary brush to cease rotation of therotary brush when the main wheels move backward.
 15. The cleaning deviceas set forth in claim 14, wherein the multiple gear unit comprises aplurality of gears engaging with each other so that an axle of the mainwheels is connected to the shaft of the rotary brush.
 16. The cleaningdevice as set forth in claim 15, wherein one of the gears mounted on theshaft of the rotary brush provides a higher rotating speed than arotating speed of another one of the gears mounted on the axle of themain wheels.
 17. The cleaning device as set forth in claim 15, whereinsaid plurality of gears comprises: a drive gear mounted on the axle ofthe main wheels; a driven gear mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush;and at least one intermediate gear coupling the drive gear to the drivengear.
 18. The cleaning device as set forth in claim 15, wherein themultiple gear unit includes a plurality of gears, wherein a driven gearis mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush via a one-way clutch, anintermediate gear is located on a shaft that moves along shaft guideslots on each side of the housing in correspondence with moving the mainwheels forward and backward, and a drive gear is mounted on an axle ofthe main wheels.